Do you have a really good recipe for pasta salad?

Question

I LOVE a really good pasta salad,but I cannot find many recipes on how to make it. I like just about every vegetable but mushrooms and black olives,ewww. Would anyone have a really good pasta recipe that is really good,and one that people ask you to make all of the time?

Thank you for your help and I would really like to make a really good pasta salad for our Labor Day Weekend barbecue and picnic,thanks! ;-)

Answer 1

I really like pesto... I hope you like this one:

INGREDIENTS
Creamy Buttermilk Dressing:
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Pasta Salad:
2 tablespoons salt
1 pound bow tie (farfalle) pasta
8 ounces trimmed asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths
1 pound cooked chicken breast strips, pulled into bite-size pieces
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved and lightly salted
1 (14 ounce) can whole artichoke hearts, drained, cut into sixths
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted in a small skillet over low heat until golden
1/4 cup pesto (homemade or refrigerated prepared variety)
DIRECTIONS
Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl; keep chilled until ready to toss with salad. (Store in clean jar with lid.)
Bring 1 gallon of water and 2 Tbs. of salt to boil in a large soup kettle. Add pasta and, using package times as a guide, boil, stirring frequently and adding asparagus the last 1 minute, until just tender. Drain thoroughly (do not rinse) and dump onto a large, lipped cookie sheet. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining salad ingredients.
Place all salad ingredients (except buttermilk dressing) in a large bowl or transfer to a gallon-size zippered bag. (Can be covered and refrigerated several hours at this point.) When ready to serve, add dressing; toss to coat and serve.

and one more:
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups uncooked tri-color spiral pasta
1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 large sweet red pepper, julienned
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse under cold water. Drain. In a large bowl, whisk together the broth, vinegar, oil, garlic, sugar, basil and salt. Add pasta, broccoli, tomatoes, pepper and Parmesan and toss to coat.

Answer 2

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces rotini pasta
2 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup diced Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup pitted black olives (optional)
1 cup Italian-style salad dressing
DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and rinse with cold water until completely cool.
In large bowl, combine pasta, vegetables, cheese, and olives. Toss well with dressing. Serve chilled or at room temperature.


Try this website i get a lot of recipies here and they are all really good.

Answer 3

Hi !!!
Here is one of the pasta salads that I make...

Summer Seafood Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups cooked and drained spiral or shell pasta or (any you prefer)
1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 cups fine shredded cheese (cheddar or mixed)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/2 cup finely shredded carrot (may omit)
2 cups imitation crabmeat shredded
2 cups Ranch or Peppercorn Ranch Dressing (bottled)
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese (optional)

PREPARATION:
Cook pasta until done but not overcooked. Cool under cold running water; drain well. In large bowl combine all ingredients except tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. Toss gently but blend thoroughly. Refrigerate 3-4 hours.

If texture is dry add more dressing, top with tomatoes and parmesan cheese.

Notes: This is a creamy pasta salad but I prefer this to the ones with oily dressings. You can also substitute small frozen shrimp, (be sure they are thawed and well drained on paper towels or the salad will be watery.

Answer 4

here it is..

Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups shell pasta
2 cups brocolli, chopped
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 6 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup Italian salad dressing
3/4 cup sliced black olives
1 tomato, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
PREPARATION:
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.
In a large salad bowl, combine the pasta, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and onion.

Toss with the dressing, then cover and chill for 4 hours.

Before serving, toss the salad with the olives, tomato and avocado.

Answer 5

Summer Spaghetti Salad

• 16 oz. thin spaghetti, broken
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced
• 3 small zucchini, diced
• 1 cucumber, seeded and diced
• 1 each red and green pepper, diced
• 8 oz. Italian salad dressing
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoons celery seed
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. Place in a large bowl; add tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber and peppers. In a separate bowl combine remaining ingredients; pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Answer 6

I use either bow ties or rotini, and add a can of canellini beans, some chopped marinated artichokes hearts, chopped roasted red peppers, toasted pine nuts, chopped sun dried tomatoes, and fresh grated parmesan cheese. For the dressing, I mix a half cup of red wine vinaigrette, a third cup of olive oil, a couple cloves of finely chopped garlic, black pepper, kosher salt, and dried basil and oregano, with a teaspoon of dijon mustard. Just add stuff till it looks good, I don't even bother with measuring cups. If it's a little dry when you are ready to eat it, you can add a little Italian Dressing.

Answer 7

Mine's pretty good. Just boil off a cup of orzo. While that's boiling chop up half a bag of fresh spinach, toast a handful of pine nuts, drain and rinse a can of garbanzo beans. Make a lemon vinaigrette (recipe follows). Drain the pasta, toss with everything else, then toss with the vinaigrette and put crumbled feta on top. You can also add sun-dried tomatoes or any other veggie you want.

1/2 cup olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
Big tsp of minced garlic
Pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper
Big pinch of dried oregano
--Shake or whisk it all up.

Answer 8

Summer Pasta Salad
this one sounds good

curly rotini pasta, cooked
grated fresh parmesan (or romano?)
red peppers, diced small (about 1/4 inch on a side)
green peppers, diced small
green onions (about 1/4 inch slices)
black pepper
black olives, sliced
shredded carrots
parsley

Mix all together. Serve cold.

Answer 9

i like pasta salad a lot also .my recipe is fairly simple.cook your spaghetti noodles rinse with cold water .drain off the water and place noodles in a large bowl.make sure you wash all vegetables and fruit very well before using them.take 1 large tomato and dice in small pieces add to the noodles,take 1 large green pepper and clean it out and dice into small pieces and place in the noodles,take a bunch of radishes chop off the top and bottom parts and put thin slices in the noodles,take 4 or 5 green onions and chop up and place in the noodles add 1 small drained jar of mushrooms also 1 12 ounce bag of shredded cheese like cheddar.add i large bottle italian dressing like wish bone the zesty italian.mix all of this very well and place in the refrigarator overnight or for at least several hours.really good .good luck.

Answer 10

1 Box Tri-color Rotini
2 cups chopped brocolli
1 pkg grape/cherry tomatoes (halved)
1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper
1 red onion
1 english cucumber (seedless)
Salt, Pepper and Oregano to taste.
1 bottle Kraft Zesty Italian dressing

Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Half the cherry tomatoes and dice the onion, bell pepper and cucumber. Chop fresh or steamed broccoli. Combine all veggies with pasta and toss with a large bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian dressign. Refrigeration